I finished what I consider my oven experiment. I found that if you know your paint/s and have a good process you can achieve your desired results. The big plus I find with baking is that I can complete a paint process in a single day regardless of the outside conditions. I took three pieces - standard gauge frame from a #10 and two #10 shells. I was able to clean/prep, prime and paint in a single day - really about 5 hours, with a piece dry enough to handle with cotton gloves. The pieces will need to cure for more days and that is fine because I have no real plans for them at this time. I have included pictures.
I learned paint from a rattle/spray can takes less time to dry, but may need more coats. Non-spray cans of paint (from Hennings for example) that need reduced to work with a spray gun will go on heavier and require more drying time, although not days. Additional time will depend on how hot your oven gets. For now, I will stick with the two 40W bulbs and plan to dry for 1 to 1.5 hours.
Also, included are some pictures of my paint 'booth'...lol. I set objects to paint on round disks I cut out many years ago. Most of the time I use blocks/tongue depressors to lift piece somewhat. The disk sets on an old plastic lazy susan - I turn the disk as I paint vs. trying to hold pieces. I am better able to control painting distance etc. I have an old box fan behind everything with a furnace filter in front of it. This keeps over spray down. Fan runs at medium speed for most jobs, and one day I will probably fix a filter behind the fan as well. The front filter is held in place when fan runs. The picture included shows how I hold towers for painting their exteriors. The cone is attached to the disk with three long wood screws.
That's all I can think of for now. Have fun keeping those old trains running.
One last thing - using an oven allows me to use Harry Henning's process to paint the inside first, bake it, cool it and then paint outside.
